Module 3: Ethics

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  1. Is it more important to be a good person or to perform good acts (virtue ethics vs. action ethics)?
    1. In my point of view, I think that it is more important to be a good person.  I think that in order to perform good acts, one must truly be a good person and understand the concept of virtue ethics.  Virtue ethics deals with what people should be, and action ethics deals with what should be done.  In order to make the world a better place, I believe that people should come to terms with what it means to be a good person in terms of giving back to the community, putting others before yourself, looking out for the environment, and more.  If the population of the world are able to become good people, then the world can move forward in performing good acts to create a better place.  All in all, I think that they pretty much go hand in hand but I think that in order to perform good acts one needs to truly be a good person first, so that aspect is more important.
    1. Does the process by which decisions are made matter more than the outcomes of these decisions (procedural justice vs. distributive justice)?
    2. I think that this is another question where one thing leads to the next, but I believe that the process by which decisions are made matter more than the outcomes.  Procedural justice deals with how the decisions are made, and distributive justice deals with the outcome.  I believe that the process of good decision making is a very important trait for our population to have, and if we were better at making decisions I think that the world would be in a better place.  Decisions are very important, and many people don’t realize the impact their decisions have.  I believe that if one takes the time to plan or think out a decision, then the right decision will be made, and inevitably have a good outcome.  For the reason that decision making comes before the outcome, I think that procedural justice is more important and should be taken more seriously.
    1. Is my own life worth more than the lives of others, the same, or less (selfishness vs. altruism)?
    2. This is a very difficult question to answer, because at times I think my answer could vary, but overall I believe that my life and the lives of others are worth the same.  Every person in the world, I feel for the most part has the same worth, and has the same potential in life, some people just chose to live up to the potential while others do not.  There are some times when I feel that my life is worth more, which is kind of a terrible thing to say.  I feel this way when comparing my life to someone that has executed negative actions and are in jail, or something of the sort.  There are other times, when I feel that others lives are worth more than my own.  For example, the life of an innocent child has so much living to do, versus me who is a little far along in my life and did some living.  As you can see, I kind of fight back and forth with myself on this question, but for the most part I believe that my own life is equivalent to others, and that we should all find a balance of being selfish, as well as being altruistic.

2 thoughts on “Module 3: Ethics”

  1. Hi Madison, my name is Alyssa. Here’s the link to my blog post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/01/module-3-alyssa-massaro/

    I enjoyed reading your post because I found some similarities. I too answered the question about the worth of lives. I said that my life is worth the same as others. However, after reading your post, I agree that this may vary based on the situation. I also brought up the argument that the life of someone who has hurt others (criminals) may not be worth as much as mine (it does feel really terrible to say that). I also agree that the life of a child is more important than mine. Great post!

  2. Hi Madison,

    I also chose to answer the good person vs. good acts, but ended up arguing for the other side of the issue. You begin your argument with a generality that may not be universally true, as you can be a bad person yet still commit good acts. For example, a fascist dictator could try to gain the favor of his people by commit numerous good acts, only to turn on them once they he has gained their trust. Your answer to the third question on the worth of lives seemed very honest and well thought out. It is good that you have taken the time to carefully consider this question, and I hope you have gained some clarity from it. I would have to agree that I constantly go back and forth between answers when I consider this question. If you would like to check out my blog post, it can be found here: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/01/module-3-ethics-3/

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